What probably matters to youSection of the release
What
Claude Code has a new setting, permissions.blockFileToolReadsOutsideWorkingDirectories. It stops the file tools reading outside the working directories, the folders the session was told to work in. The file tools are how Claude reads and edits files.
With the setting on, a permission check that used to approve a read automatically now refuses to, when a further condition holds. The findings do not show what that condition tests.
This setting, along with blockReadsExemptPaths and workingDirectoriesAsGiven, is now ignored in settings files and managed settings. Only the program that starts Claude Code can set them, through --settings. A warning says so.
A second warning appears if something other than the launching program changed the related environment during a session.
Why
If you put these keys in a settings file or managed settings, they will not take effect. Use permissions.blockReadsOutsideWorkingDirectories there instead. Programs that embed Claude Code, such as SDK hosts, need to pass these keys through --settings.
How sure we are
One source agreesOne thing we can check says the same as this entry.
Anthropic's release notes agreeFixed a case where the Write and Edit tools could write to a path covered by a Read deny rule
